sloan

Before I start wrapping up everything here at the office for the weekend, I wanted to get the first (of a few) great contests up on the site that I’ll be running from now until the end of the year. Toronto legends Sloan are still swinging, after 23 years together, and set to blow the roof off the Phoenix later this month.

There are so many great music festivals happening this summer that I just wish I would be able to attend. Case in point, the Pemberton Music Festival; a five-day festival taking place Wednesday, July 16 to Sunday, July 20 in beautiful Pemberton, BC (located near Whistler, BC) . With nearly 100 performances and six separate performance areas, including two main stages, two secondary stages, a dance tent and a comedy area, Pemberton Music Festival will be five glorious days of music, comedy, and camping on 300 clean, open acres in one of the most idyllic settings on Earth.

The stellar lineup includes the likes of Nine Inch Nails, Outkast, Deadmau5, Soundgarden, FrankOcean, KendrickLamar, Metric with IMF favourites Justice [DJ Set], TV On The Radio, St. Vincent, The New Pornographers, Stars, Hayden, MattMays, HeyRosetta!, RichAucoin and many more.

For the full lineup, go HERE. Tickets can be purchased for the event HERE.

Care of The Pemberton Music Festival, I’ve got two General Admission Tickets + Camping or Shuttle to give away to one lucky winner. There is only one way to enter. Email me at chris AT indiemusicfilter.com with “PEMBERTON” in the subject line with your full name in the body. Tell your friends in the west to enter! Deadline is WEDNESDAY, JULY 9TH at NOON (EST). I’ll notify the winner that day.

Now in its 16th year, NXNE is set to hold its annual music/film/interactive conference and festival on the week of June 14th-20th. It puts 625+ international and local bands on 50 stages, screens 40+ films, populates Conference Village sessions with groundbreaking keynotes and inspired panel discussions, and breaks ground in the interactive media arena. From small intimate shows to stages at Lester B. Pearson International Airport and Union Station, to free open?air concerts in the heart of the city at Yonge?Dundas Square, the NXNE experience permeates Toronto.

As always, I’m really looking forward to the shows. This year features performances by Iggy and the Stooges, The Raveonettes, Sloan, Japandroids, Surfer Blood, The Soft Pack, Avi Buffalo, Timber Timbre, Diamond Rings, The Besnard Lakes and Free Energy, to name a few. I’m also psyched for the Interactive element of the festival, called NXNEi. This will be its first year, aninteractive media conference and workshops programmed in conjunction with FITC to bring the key players in new media innovation for featured talks, frank discussions and community?voted panels.

Last night was a good night for shows. Started at CBC’s Glenn Gould Theatre for Emma-Lee‘s opening spot for The Trews. Perfect room for her. Smooth, sweet and witty, she dazzled the crowd with songs off ‘Never Just A Dream‘. The highlight for me was her great cover of Corey Hart’s Sunglasses at Night.

Dekel and I took off for Sloan at The Mod Club. Apparently, they were taping the show as a live album, songs from every part of thier career. Format was weird, it was set up like a radio show (MRCH 104?). Every few songs, a voice would come on the speaker with faux-ads. Wondering what that will look/sound like when they put it out. Anyway, enjoyable dose of nostalgia at that one.

Next was The Week That Was at the Gladstone. This is the project of Field Music‘s Peter Brewis, whose songs I’ve been loving online lately. But the live show? I’m not sure if it translated to the crowd that was there to see them. Maybe a little too prog, left me searching for the hooks. Like in Learn To Learn, video below.

We ended the night at the Horseshoe Tavern, which didn’t have a lineup when we got there. Saw the last song from Chad Van Gaalen‘s set and a whole set from Quest For Fire. And a lot of booze. Good times had by all.

On the topic of Canadian Music Week, head to AOL Canada’s coverage, this great column called Northern Exposure. Great previews and downlaods from the best bets of the festival. Check it out.